Summer Solstice Sunday Sightings

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El Polin Springs, Lafayette Park, Sutro Heights. A nice afternoon spent in a few of the city's birdy places.

Posted: June 22, 2008

The male Red-tailed Hawk at Sutro departs after having eaten. This is the first gopher in months he hasn't shared with the family. Maybe since the kids are now hunting (poorly), he is keeping them hungry to encourage them to fend for themselves.

A moment earlier.

Something tells me the technique on the right is more sustainable.

The young hawks have mastered flight and their once perfect feathers are worn from scraping the ground and crashing into trees. Now if they could just get that hunting thing down...

Easily distracted and ever curious.

Between hunts, the siblings harass each other.

It is so nice to see how quickly they have progressed - and to see them pick up kiting, a technique they could only watch their parents do a week ago. Even though they hunt this way now, the difference is remarkable when you watch the stoic, motionless, energy-efficient way the adults do it.

Into the wind.

Turning to reposition over the hillside.

A gratuitous shot included just because I like it - no story here.

The young hawks tend to chase anything that moves. Here I try to stay still but draw attention anyway.

A high-speed dive pursuing prey. I have yet to see the young ones successful but suspect they have caught things already. Their commitment to hunting seems pretty developed and I can only guess that their attempts have met with at least a few successes.

Fixated on something as it floated down the hillside.

Backlit and launching to chase after a nearby parent.

A Hooded Oriole photographed in the Sea Cliff neighborhood.

Back at El Polin Spring an Allen's shifts position.

Two Allen's actually bathing peacefully - a rare sight.

Goldfinches at El Polin Spring. We also saw a Hutton's Vireo, a Hooded Oriole that came down to the spring but didn't drink, A Wilson's Warbler, Downy Woodpecker, a Pacific-Slope Flycatcher, Pygmy Nuthatches, Chestnut-backed Chickadees... there was a real flurry of activity around 4 PM. We even saw two Goldfinches scurrying through the trees with three fledglings swarming around them and chattering intensely. The whole group moved like a little tornado through the bushes.

Watching another hummingbird hovering overhead.

Apparently Goldfinches don't like anyone looking over their shoulder either.

No sign of the one-eyed Allen's today

In Lafayette Park, the resident Red-tail was having a rough day... but that's what you get when you try to snatch a fledgling blackbird from the top of the pines across the street.

A Black Phoebe comes close enough for a portrait.

Then it's back to business as usual.

A Bushtit carries a feather from branch to branch before disappearing altogether.

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External Links

Cornell Lab of Ornithology Bird Guide
John W. Wall's Blog
Bill Walker's Flickr Page
Lineatus on Great Horned Owls